


Letters that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

by Lilili_cat



Category: Naruto
Genre: Light Angst in Chapter 4, Light Fluff in Chapter 5, M/M, Smut, Somewhat steamy letters?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-03-09 22:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18926515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilili_cat/pseuds/Lilili_cat
Summary: Inspired by Writingfish's OC Uchiha Seto fromTobirama aus: Problematic snippet collectionand also Heian courting poetry (except I suck at poetry, especially the variety favored by the nobles of that era in Japan, so it turned into a somewhat steamy letter instead with vague hints of poetry in it).





	1. The First Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Writingfish (idraax)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Tobirama aus: Problematic snippet collection](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18650527) by [Writingfish (idraax)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/pseuds/Writingfish). 



> Yeah, sorry for the bad pseudo-poetry letter, but I ended up with lowkey Uchiha Seto/Senju Tobirama vibes from Writingfish's fic and well...I could never resist when an idea won't leave my head.

**The First Letter...that he never sent**  
  


As the mighty raging fire is banked into mellow embers by a gentle tide, so too does this lowly katon user yield to the cool depths of the suiton that swells in your core. I long to drink of the sweet waters of your mouth and to swim in the vastness of your being, but I am unworthy of even your earnest glance.

For in your crimson-hued eyes lies the wisdom of the heavens, and all the villagers must surely follow each pearl that drops from your lips as a mere scholar would attentively learn from Omoikane himself. Our lord Hokage is surely fortunate to receive your counsel, and it must be said that all the inhabitants of Konohagakure must be blessed to have one such as you.

While I count myself amongst that number, I must confess that it is not only my ears that benefit. My eyes are blinded daily by the exquisiteness of your kenjutsu. Surely Hachiman himself must have gifted you with such discipline and grace. A finely honed edge cannot compare to the sharp perfection of your kata.

...And even Kichijōten herself cannot compare to your austere beauty.

Forgive me, for this humble servant dares to gaze upon you. I know I ought not look upon the figure of one allied to Lord Izuna and brother to our lord Hokage himself, but I cannot resist glimpses of your elegant form, nor keep myself from imagining running gentle fingertips along the fine line of your long, slender neck. In truth, it is not difficult to imagine. You bared it only once for me, but the Sharingan never forgets. Ah...but I am not the flame that comprises the rest of my clan. I am but the weak moth doomed, and I fear I will drown in these waters I wade in.

Frankness is not in my nature, and indeed, a good shinobi will always hide behind the perfect poised mask. And yet I must be frank in this. I admire you and have admired you for many a moon. And if you can bring your heart to soften for this wretched shinobi who have watched you since the Daimyo's court, let us meet on that clearing beneath the stars.

And if you should bare your neck, I shall lavish it with the worship of my tongue and sink into the embrace of your thighs.


	2. The Second Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it gets a bit more...explicit.

**The Second Letter...that he never sent**   
  


A flock of red-crowned crane graced the Uchiha district yesterday. As I spied the delicate streaks of red as they flew past on their noble journey, I am reminded of the lines that grace your face. I yearn to touch those beautiful adornments, and I envy the fingers of the master painter who must have placed them there. How fortunate must that mystery man to have been, for his artisan hands have brushed your cheeks and his palms have cupped your chin. He must have thanked his ancestral kami for his luck, to have the opportunity to touch you so.

Would that our ancestral kami would bless me in the same way.

Did you cry out at the inking, I wonder? No, it cannot be so, for you are as the crane herself. For can there be anything as pure as the lethal dance of your blade? And can there be anything so faithful as the unending loyalty you display to Konohagakure and Hokage? As for long life...I pray daily that you will see such and prove yourself the red-streaked white crane.

May you live to see a thousand springs, and at each of them, I will await your arrival and dance with you on the soft dewy grass. Our music will be jubilant, and we shall swirl and twine and twist--in the skies, on the grass and between the sheets.  
Would you bury yourself in me or would you allow me to know the heat of your embrace? For you, I would bend in loving submission and lathe your sword with worshipful kisses. I would have you know me as I have had no other and can have no other. And with you, in turn, I would forge the steel of my own blade and temper it within the furnace between your legs.

It is said that the swordsmith must fold and pound the steel 16 times to achieve his craft. I would do so a hundred times in mine. You would find me relentless in this pursuit, for I am merely of a branch family descended of blacksmiths, and we do not often miss our marks. I would pound and pound and pound, as a hammer upon an anvil, and I would not be satisfied until your legs tighten around mine and you let loose the most glorious music from your long elegant throat.

I do not think I could keep myself from that throat, not when it beckons for my tongue and teeth and lips so.

I do not think I could keep myself from any part of you that you deign to share with me.

For you are a noble red-crowned crane, and I would spend each night worshiping you if you would but allow me to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red-Crowned Cranes are some of the rarest cranes in the world. What I found interesting is that China, Japan and Korea have the same symbolism regarding this bird: purity, longevity, loyalty and luck. I confess I mostly chose the bird because the coloration was very similar to Tobirama (red streak on top of the head, white feathers with a smattering of black feathers that look a lot like a black turtleneck to me). Also, they have this mating dance and song that's absolutely gorgeous to see and are very graceful to boot. Seemed like a good comparison to Tobirama.


	3. The Third Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, was meaning to go into porn, but then it got derailed and then it went into a...melancholy mood. _Why...?_ D:

**The Third Letter...that he never sent**  
  
It has been two days since I happened upon you in the public baths, and still, I cannot shake my mind off the encounter. Truly, had I known you would be there in such... _undress_...I may have chosen a different time for myself for I find that I am singularly unable to concentrate on anything save...

Well, it would be brazen for me to write thus, and a man with self-restraint should be able to prevent such vulgarity from slipping his brush.

And yet, in this, I find all my self-control escaped, fleeing the way Heir Izuna flees from Lord Madara when the former has pranked the latter.

~~You must understand, Senju Heir, my Lord Tobirama, that I did not purposefully call forth my Sharingan, but that I was so shocked by your presence that--~~

Ah, I have splotched the paper in my distraction.

Please forgive me. My hands quiver, and the ink is splattering for I can think of nothing ~~but the curve of--~~

Words will not come to me this day it seems. For how can they? I am entranced by you, by the compact muscles in your long limbs, by the tautness of your belly, by the glistening of your skin as the steam from the baths caress it, by the pale trail of hair on your lower belly leading down to...

I will put all pretense aside.

I dream of you at night. I dream of soft caresses and of downy white hair against my chest. I dream of you smiling underneath my kisses and of licking your milky thighs. I dream of having you in my lap, the delicious curve of your spine arching against me, and I dream of taking you in my mouth.

But most of all, I dream of bringing you freshly grilled fish in your laboratory when you forget to eat. I see Heir Izuna pack some for you everyday. And I dream of listening to you explain your recent forays in adjusting the balance of Yin-Yang Release. Lord Madara exclaims often that he has rarely seen such innovation and brilliance.

Two days ago, you have given me a more vivid dream of your beautiful form. But I fear your wondrous mind and genuine companionship shall forever be out of my reach.


	4. The Fourth Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And a mistake is made.

**The Fourth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
It has been two years since that fateful mission where I first met you. And today, I am more afraid than I have ever been in my life.

Lord Hokage says the blade just missed your heart. You have been in surgery for ten hours and I...I...

Heir Izuna is cold towards me. I cannot fault him for it. We all know you are his favorite, and I am but distant kin. And it was my fault, my inattentiveness that...

Why, my lord?

Why place yourself in harms way to save the life of someone so much lower than yourself? You are third ranked in the village, and I but another Jounin. And I brought this on myself with my own carelessness. It should be me pierced by unyielding metal. But instead...

Forgive my poor penmanship, for my hand trembles, and I can scarce bring myself to write. Should I ever deliver this to your hand, know that I am overcome with terror and base fear.

I can still see it now.

It is a most horrible sight, to see the blood spray from someone that has become so dear to me. The sight of you falling, of your pale skin drenched in blood, those red rivulets running down your blue armor...I never want to see that again, but it is etched into my very eyes.

Cursed, wretched Sharingan eyes that never forget! Would that this frightful painter cease to torment me!

My lord, I beg you on bended knee, do not put so low a value on your precious life. Nothing can compare to you, Senju Heir, my dearest lord Tobirama, and certainly not I. Should these awful circumstances repeat, let me take the blade I am meant to, for I would be the armor that diverts the deadly edge onto myself. And I would embrace death gladly.

~~If you would allow me to shield you~~

I cannot say I recall much of what happened. I am told that I cut the remaining Kumo bastards down, but I remember nothing of it. All I could see is the pallor of your face and the weakness of your shivering body, and how wrong that is! You are silver and steel, and still, even now, I can smell the stench of blood.

It will not leave me, the smell of your blood. There was so much of it, and I did my best to dress the injury, but...

Lord Madara saved you.

He sensed your weakening chakra. He and Lord Hokage rushed from the Hokage tower, and they were able to staunch the bleeding and stabilize you enough to rush you to the hospital.

That was ten hours ago.

I do not know what is happening beyond the doors that closed behind you.

In truth, I do not know if I wish to.

Heir Izuna is glaring at me. He holds me responsible for your condition, and I do not think he will forgive me.

I find I am in agreement.

I deserve none.


	5. The Fifth Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff! Not my strong suit, I confess (I am naturally inclined towards angst), but the urge took me.

**The Fifth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
The rain is splattering outside against the windows. The embers glow from where the fire has died. And I am filled with tremulous warmth on this wet, wet morning.

As I sit at the table in the corner and compose my letter to you, my brush lightly skimming the paper, I look upon your sleeping face, ensconced warmly, sweetly, gently in the silks that cover my bed.

I am so happy that I am afraid it is but another dream.

Is this real or a cruel genjutsu, ensaring me with my deepest held wish? Can such a feeling of joy truly exist in this blood-soaked world of the shinobi no mono? Or is this just another trick to bring me down?

If so, I applaud the ninja who sees so clearly.

And I hope the technique never ends.

But no, there is no foreign chakra, and still there you lay, your features as relaxed as I have ever seen, sighing softly into my pillow. You smile when I brush the back of a finger against the red line of your cheek. You must be dreaming a good dream then.

My Tobirama, and for the first time, I can write that honestly. For, despite all the odds and my own cowardice, you saw through to my heart. You came to me after last night's mission. You named me a dense idiot and declared you like me, that you've liked me for a long time and knew that I liked you back. And after we spent some time speaking, you trusted me enough to rest in my bed. And there you stayed, exhausted after your mission, and here I sat, scarcely believing what happened.

I did not touch you last night, and I will not until you permit me access to your person.

Ah, the rain is beginning to withdraw, and I just see the orange glow of the sun rising through the cracks in the shutters. They draw streaks against your pale skin, adorning you in golden ropes of light and glistening in the white of your hair.

It will not be long now before you wake. When you stir, do not be distressed, for I use my Sharingan only to commit this sight of you, peaceful, relaxed and _mine_ forever into my most secret memory.

My Tobirama...My Tobira, I hope to spend many early mornings watching you sleep. I hope to see those glorious vermilion eyes open to the morning rays. And one of these days, I wish to wake in the bed with you.


	6. The Sixth Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut without trying not to be too obvious about the smut? :)

**The Sixth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
Ah, my Tobira, it seems once again, I am composing a letter to you from that little table in the corner, and you are sleeping in my bed, a smile on your lips.

In the candlelight, I can see the sweat still glistening on your skin. Your lips are red, bruised from all the kisses I have showered you, and I can see that you will have bruises on your hips come the morrow.

My apologies. I did not realize your skin was so prone to bruising. I suppose it must come from your albinism. I shall strive to be more gentle in the future, though I suspect you will not give me leave to.

You were so demanding in my arms, a commander even in the throes of passion. You cried out for more, and harder and deeper, and what can I do but seek to fulfill your every order? You wanted to wipe away the ashes of the past and fully enjoy your body for the first time, and my mission was to teach you how.

It is a mission I take with all my heart.

You shivered so delightfully when I licked the muscles at your belly. Those shivers grew into gasps when I took you into my mouth. And when I parted your milky thighs and slid a carefully oiled finger into you, I swear I nearly came undone at your pretty moans.

You took my finger so well and writhed so deliciously when I added another and then another. I had to keep hold of your hips then, lest you injure yourself on my thrusting slick fingers. You begged me to enter you, but I would not until you were fully ready to take me.

I hope that will not count against me, my lord Tobirama, when I recount the particulars of this... _mission_...to you later. I do so hate to be penalized for my service.

And when you were finally ready for me, and I sank slowly into you...

Ah, my lovely Tobira. There can be nothing so glorious as your red eyes, clouded in pleasure, and your pink lips rounded into a moan.

I would wring many such moans from your pretty, pretty lips, if you will allow me, my beautiful Senju.

And now, I see you begin to stir, and I will set down my brush, hide this letter in the cabinet with all the others, and ready myself to greet you with a kiss.


	7. The Seventh Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humorous references? :)

**The Seventh Letter...that he never sent**  
  
It seems I have unleashed a tsunami, for your curiosity is insatiable and lends itself to all manner of knowledge.

Including, I am increasingly stunned to discover, the activities of the bed.

I am not quite sure where you found this book and to be quite honest, I am not sure of whom I could inquire. We all know that both Heir Izuna and our lord Hokage are fond of acquiring books and scrolls for you (and indeed, given the terrifying growth of your personal library these several years, I suspect there may be an unspoken competition in that arena). However, if I were to approach the former with this particular title, he would undoubtedly gut me and leave my entrails out for the crows to peck at. And as for our esteemed Hokage...these past few years your brother by blood seems determined to reverse his earlier neglect of you. I dare declare him overzealous in this endeavor, and I would certainly not wish to risk his ire by presenting him with such a-- _treatise_ \--to read. Especially in regard to my relations with you.

No, my love, you have bemoaned my lack of caution on the battlefield many times, but in this, I assure you, I am no fool. Lord Hashirama would bind me down with his vines and grow a giant pitcher plant around me. The acid, he tells me, would slowly digest first my skin, then my flesh and finally my organs, to leave nothing but barren bleached bones behind.

Your brother by birth does not seem the most innovative of minds, I confess. This method does not sound dissimilar to the tales of an infamous lady Emperor of that western continent who cut off her rivals' hands and feet and pickled them both in jars of rice wine. They lived for a week thus, or so the tale goes. Our lord Hokage assures me that the digestive juices of the pitcher plant are rather weak, and thus, it would take much, much longer for me to perish in its grip.

He even mused that, should I accidentally inhale the acid, why, it would slowly eat me from the inside out!

He was rather cheerful, this brother of yours, when discussing such matters.

And thus, with such considerations on my mind, I shall direct my attentions to the dedicated study of this...most unique book...and remain ignorant as to your procurement of it.

Now let me see--according to these pronouncements, I see that my first task must be to locate some sort of ~~long thick smooth rod with a bulbous head~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the references is around rumors of what Wu Zetian did to two rivals she really didn't like. Of course, she wasn't well liked by Confucian scholars, so it's highly likely they made stuff up to slander her. Still quite "oh shit" to think about, so I included it.
> 
> The other reference is a particular fragmentary translation of the Kama Sutra. Apparently, there's parts that speaks to sexual relationships between men and sexual relationships between women and mentions dildos. XD


	8. The Eight Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**The Eighth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
I am not usually cross with you, love, but this cannot go on any further! I arrived at your lab with some wakame and grilled Naka trout that I caught earlier and...

The windows blew out; when the dust settled, there was debris everywhere. I spied you through the gaping hole in the wall, and you lay there on the floor, broken and unmoving. For a moment I thought...

Your experiments are important to you, I know. Your mind is always whirling, spinning with new ideas and abstract theories that I could never begin to understand. It does not leave you, even in repose, and I can almost see the mathematical formulas running behind your closed eyelids.

How I've wished I could join in and be a part of that, but I am simply not as inclined as you are towards these studies. I must content myself to be a simple man of blade and brush and remain merely your lover.

I do not begrudge you this. Your brilliant mind is as part of the Senju Tobirama that I adore as the thrust of your blade, your unending loyalty and your fierce beauty. And there is little I enjoy more than watching you passionately expound on your latest discoveries, for all that I grasp little and cannot offer my own in return.

But you absolutely must take better precautions, you stubborn moon rabbit!

The blast that destroyed your laboratory even singed the walls of the neighboring houses. I think your ancestral kami must have shielded you, because it was a miracle that it did not take you with it!

When I found you, I thought it had.

My Tobira, please, for the sake of the village which benefits from your inexhaustible loyalty and endless inventions, for Heir Izuna and our lord Hokage who would be broken without you, for commander Touka and even lord Madara who thinks of you fondly despite all his protestations...and for me. For my sake, for the sake of my heart, which even now pounds in terror...

Please, do not be so consumed in your research that you neglect your safety.

The village cannot afford to lose you. Heir Izuna and lord Hokage could not bear to lose you.

And I?

I would not survive losing you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naka trout here is actually Biwa trout. However, since Lake Biwa doesn't exist in Naruto and the Naka river does, I renamed it to Naka trout for consistency.
> 
> I was trying to think of logical nicknames, so I began looking up every single animal in Japan that had some white coloration and was known to be stubborn. I read about the Japanese hares which spend the winter having a white coat and the summer with a reddish-brown coat. And that got me thinking about the rabbit on the moon (if anyone's been in East Asia and looked up at the full moon, yeah, the dark and light spots really do look like exactly like a rabbit), ergo...moon rabbit.


	9. The Ninth Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Uchiha will drama. It's in their genes

**The Ninth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
My lord Tobirama. May I still refer to you thus?

You are not mine anymore. But even so, I...

You have said you need space. You have said that I, that I overstepped my bounds.

I understand.

You are upset with the words I let loose when I found you insensate in your lab.

I...

Perhaps I did forget myself.

I am Uchiha, and we Uchiha are ever vulnerable when it comes to those we love.

It is known to all that Lord Madara would destroy the world if something ever happened to Heir Izuna. And I do not believe the sentiment unreturned. If Heir Izuna were ever to lose both your own person and Lord Madara, he would go mad.

I shudder to think what the consequences of that would be, for either Konohagakure or the world at large.

For, as your close confidant, which one of your experiments would he not use to avenge your losses?

And yet, I cannot begrudge him this, for I, too, should you be lost to us...

I, too, would follow in those footsteps. Even now, when I think of your pale form, lying there on the floor of your lab, I...I...

And yet, you wish I would keep my distance for now.

I do not know how I can, but...

Very well.

I am too wholly in love with you to refuse.

I shall stay my distance.

I shall--

I shall keep my Uchiha instincts in check. I will remove myself to an extended mission if necessary. For otherwise, I fear I cannot hold myself back when your safety is threatened, no matter your wishes.

It shames me to write thus, for I know how particular you are about your choices after your past experiences. And you are justified in this other than the one area of the safety of your person.

After what happened in your lab...after how I discovered you...

No, I am resolved.

I cannot be trusted to honor your request as it stands at this moment, and so I will petition our lord Hokage for a long mission.

He will not be sorry to see me go, I think. He has ever been discomfited by our relationship.

I shall plan for a fortnight or perhaps two. And when I return, I hope that I will have been able to conquer my feelings to your satisfaction.


	10. The Tenth Letter That Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seto isn't expecting this.

**The Tenth Letter...that he never sent**  
  
Ah, my lord Tobirama.

I admit I was astonished when I woke, and there you slept, in that uncomfortable chair by my hospital bed.

I asked the nurse for paper and brush, for I could not truly believe my own eyes and nothing grounds me so much as a letter to you.

You sleep there, and your hand rests gently on the white sheet that covers me. And I can only wonder at it.

My lord Tobirama, do you worry for me?

It was but my own carelessness that led to my injury.

As I write those words, I cannot help but smile, for I almost hear your voice chiding me over my lack of attention on my left side.

I am ashamed to admit that the Kiri nin caught me unawares.

...I suppose I am too used to having your unparalleled sensor abilities with me.

I was able to overpower them, but they managed to catch me between the ribs. It is my own fault, and I do not blame them for it. In truth, I was not sure I would be able to return.

But now that I am returned...

My lord Tobirama, why are you here?

I fear I have not been able to conquer my heart in the time I have been away. And with you so close...with your hand on my hospital bed...I...

I do not know if I can keep the distance you requested.


	11. The Eleventh Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At least he's self-aware enough to realize just how melodramatic he was being? :D

**The Eleventh Letter...that he never sent**  
  
It is often said that love makes fools of us all.

And if lovers be fools, than I am clearly the Daimyo of the country of lovers.

How I miscontrued your words!

And how happy I am to have been wrong!

I feel so utterly foolish at this moment, that I almost do not know what to do with myself.

Can I blame my Uchiha sensibilities?

No, I do not believe Heir Izuna would allow me such an escape from my great mortification.

You said space, I heard gone from your side forever.

You said I went too far in my concern, and I heard that it was not my place to think of you.

I think...

I think even lord Madara is aghast at how ridiculously I behaved.

And how far a fall is that!

But truly, I do not think even he would go on a long-term mission simply because his lover is annoyed at him!

It is ludicrous in the extreme, and I truly do not know what possessed me.

I...

I am clearly an utter fool.

Ah, but how can I be anything besides?

Did not my foolish nature bring the most wonderful Senju to my side?

...and I can already see you frown.

I jest, my moon rabbit, I jest. It is not you who brings about such inanity.

But come, I beg of you. For the sake of my dignity, let us never speak of this episode again.

Let us pretend that I did not take leave of my senses, and that I did not get myself almost killed out of a fit of melodrama.

I shudder to think what the future generations might think.

I shudder to think how Heir Izuna will make mirth behind my back.


	12. The Last Letter that Uchiha Seto Never Sent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last letter, but there is an epilogue following.

**The Final Letter...that he never sent**  
  
Ah, my lord Tobirama.

My dearest moon rabbit.

You shall never see these, but know, nonetheless, that I have kept you in my heart since that fateful mission to the Fire Daimyo's court.

Having grown up on stories of your terror and under the mistaken disbelief that you had trespassed against Heir Izuna's rest in the Pure Lands, I began our acquaintance by hating you, but...that did not last.

You soon revealed yourself to be perhaps the most honorable and just man I have ever met. And yes, that includes our esteemed lord Hokage, lord Madara and heir Izuna.

I think you the best of them all.

I do not know when exactly I began to find you beautiful and desirable, but at first, I thought it would only be a passing fancy. The appreciation of sakura petals falling in the early spring. Brief and ephemeral.

You are not the cherry blossom, but the timeless ocean, and I am pulled to you as the waves are pulled by the alluring gaze of the moon.

I think I began these letters once I realized that my interest would not pass. I think they were a futile effort to console myself when you would display your inevitable disinterest.

For what else could I expect? I am but a distant relative of the Uchiha clan. A mere jounin five generations removed from lord Madara and Heir Izuna. Descended from blacksmiths and not even proper ninja. And you, the brilliant, shining second of the Senju clan. A bright star far beyond my clumsy reach.

It is only in novels dreamed up by the young and naive that such two disparate people may intertwine.

And yet, I find myself in that novel.

And I think...

I think this shall be the last letter I write to you, for I will not need my brush anymore.

Tomorrow, my moon rabbit, tomorrow, a procession shall trail from your Senju district to my home here in the Uchiha compound.

Tomorrow, I shall greet you and welcome to my home all your attendants laden with maki-e boxes, incense pillows, the precious books of your library and the invaluable instruments of your lab.

Tomorrow, you will join me in my home and never leave.

Tomorrow, Tobira, we will strengthen the alliance between our two clans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I started by using Shinto wedding, but then I looked it up and realized it was only created fairly recently and most definitely wouldn't have been a thing during either the Sengoku Jidai or the Heian period (those are the two periods I'm drawing from). But I did read that, in the Edo period (and thus, likely in the Sengoku Jidai as well), they would move house and their...dowry (not quite, but sort of similar really) would consist of maki-e boxes and incense pillows and and shells and all that (the shell is symbolism), so that's what I used, with additions for Tobirama's love of books and learning and experiments.
> 
> Since it's an official marriage, that means Hashirama approved (begrudgingly) and Izuna allowed Madara to approve (both more begrudgingly and less begrudgingly -- yay, Tobira is actually my brother now...but he's still having sex with Seto).


	13. After the End, 10 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobirama is a curious cat.

**Epilogue: After The End, 10 years Later... ******  
  
Tobirama scrunches his face in concentration and continues digging through the cabinet.

He knows his husband hid it somewhere.

Honestly, Seto can be so charmingly romantic (but--and he feels warm every time he thinks of it--only for him, never Anija or Madara), but Tobirama absolutely cannot hold his curiosity in check when it comes to new year celebration gifts. He simply must know what new book Seto got him.

And while his husband has begun getting--creative--in hiding the gifts these past couple of years, Tobirama is nothing if not resourceful. He will find it. And then he will act dutifully surprised during the gift exchange later that evening.

He continues rummaging.

It must be somewhere in here. Somewhere...

He blinks in surprise as a box of papers falls out and spills across his feet.

Judging from the condition of the paper, they look to be old.

He spies the splotches of yellow along the edges.

Very old.

And yet...no insect leavings.

This must mean something then, to be protected against pests like this.

How curious.

Perhaps they are some of Seto's old poetry he put away and had forgotten? Tobirama is well aware of his husband's inclination to compose waka, but could have sworn the man had shown him all of it...

His eyes widen as he scans the first lines.

This is definitely not waka!

This is...!

_Seto..._

He sits there, reading of the soul his husband has hidden from him, fondness bubbling up in his chest in a great cloud of warmth.

_My Seto..._

And then he gets to the seventh sheet and blushes.

He had forgotten about that book. It had been Nara Hikari who had been his clandestine source. And he had forced Anija to increase the woman's mission bonus for a full month.

He wets his lip and considers.

Perhaps...

Yes, perhaps he ought to ask his husband for reminders.

After all, it has been many years since they studied the, how did Seto so coyly put it, treatise?

He does so love knowledge. And Seto was a most engaged...teacher.

Very attentive.

Quite hands on and exceedingly...skilled.

Tobirama carefully places the letters back into their box and places the box back exactly where it was in the cabinet.

As he stands, he notes that he should leave for the marketplace soon.

While Seto is usually the one who cooks, Tobirama has been planning something special for the new year celebrations. And, well...they will simply have to eat earlier than he originally intended.

After all, he plans to spend a great deal of time giving his husband his gift later in the night.

Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waka is one of the styles of poetry that was popular in the Heian era.


End file.
